4 stars
Do
you remember the 1999 movie ‘The Mummy’ starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel
Weisz? The **good** movie version of the
‘The Mummy’? Well, I do and I loved it!
‘Book
of Souls’ reminds me a lot of that movie.
Narrating main character, Nisha, is the daughter of an Egyptian who
thinks she hallucinates visions of Anubis, the Egyptian God of Death, each time
she is nearby someone who is about to die.
Her physical proximity to tragic accidents and the dying have granted
her a rather nasty reputation around town, which in turn takes a toll on her self-esteem. Nisha tries to remain under the radar, as
everyone from the most popular cheerleader in school to the town’s police chief
express their dislike for her.
Then
Blaze moves to town, set on getting to know Nisha and reminding her
subconscious of past lives. It doesn’t
help that his good looks are turning all the girl’s heads and that his MMA
skill has half the guys wanting to learn from him. Though Nisha is attracted to the charming London-native,
she tries to keep her distance; both to detract attention from herself and to
keep him safe. After all, she believes
proximity to her leads to death. Luckily
for readers, Blaze wears her down and gets close (in a clean-YA way).
Unlike
most high school-based YA novels where the main character is somehow ‘different’
or ‘other,’ it was nice to see that Nisha is not a loner. Her cousin is supportive of her, rather than
her main bully, and the girls have several friends who all hang out together. That she takes part in typical teenage banter
is a nice change.
Can’t
wait to read the next entry in the Gods of Egypt series! ‘Book of Souls’ will be available on February
9th.
Perfect
for fans of YA and mythology, including Lindsey Fairleigh’s ‘Echo’ series.
